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Israel says the graves were dug by people in Gaza a few months ago but the corpses had been examined by IDF soldiersHere are some of the scenes in Jerusalem, where people, including Israeli interior security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have been worshipping during the Passover holiday.Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Rafah for Al Jazeera, states that two people have been killed there by drone strikes....

President says legislation is ‘going to make the world safer’ after months of congressional gridlock threatened support for KyivJoe Biden has signed into law a bill that rushes $95bn in foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, a bipartisan legislative victory he hailed as a “good day for world peace” after months of congressional gridlock threatened Washington’s support for Kyiv in its fight to...

The $95bn package allots funds to Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine, which desperately needs munitions for its war with RussiaJoe Biden praised congressional leaders and lawmakers for what he called an effort “to answer history’s call at this critical inflection point” after the US Senate voted resoundingly in a bipartisan majority on Tuesday to approve $95bn in aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.The Senate passed...

Government to resume cooperation with UN agency for Palestinians in Gaza after report finds Israel had yet to back up accusations on employees having terror tiesAn Israeli government minister has said he would rather vote for Donald Trump than Joe Biden in the forthcoming US presidential election.Speaking to Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, Amichai Chikli, who is the diaspora affairs minister and a member of...

The Senate, in a bipartisan super-majority, overwhelmingly voted to advance the measure, which Joe Biden is expected to signThe US Senate voted resoundingly on Tuesday to approve $95bn in aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as a bipartisan super-majority united to send the long-stalled package to Joe Biden’s desk for signature. The final vote was 79 to 18.The bill easily cleared a key procedural...

Aharon Haliva has stood down over the failure to prevent the attack by Hamas inside southern Israel that day, according to Israeli media reportsHaaretz reports that Israeli security forces have arrested two people suspected of carrying out a car ramming in Jerusalem. Three people are reported to have been injured.Aharon Haliva, who was the general in command of the IDF’s military intelligence directorate on...

Washington blocks security council resolution supported by 12 member countries, with two abstentions including UKThe US has vetoed a Palestinian request to the United Nations security council for full UN membership, blocking the world body’s recognition of a Palestinian state.The vote in the 15-member security council was 12 in favor, the US opposed and two abstentions, the UK and Switzerland. Continue reading...

David Cameron says it is hoped Israel ‘does as little to escalate as possible’ as he visits Jerusalem as west considers new sanctions on IranSee all our Middle East crisis coverageHere are some more pictures sent over the news wires from Rafah showing the aftermath of an Israeli strike there.Reuters, citing the semi-official Tasnim news agency, reports that Iran’s navy is to begin escorting...

Flights delayed and traffic disrupted as protesters in major US cities intensify call for ceasefire in GazaThousands of people held protests across the US on Monday condemning Israel’s attack on Gaza, shutting down airports and disrupting traffic in major cities from New York to San Francisco.A portion of the Kennedy Expressway into Chicago O’Hare international airport, one of the US’s busiest, was blocked off...

Speaker rejects pressure to approve package sent over by Senate, leaving its path to passage deeply uncertainMike Johnson, the US House speaker, has unveiled a complicated proposal for passing wartime aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, rejecting pressure to approve a package sent over by the Senate and leaving its path to passage deeply uncertain.The Republican speaker huddled with fellow GOP lawmakers on Monday...

Mike Johnson has said he will aim to advance legislation to support Israel but has not clarified whether Ukraine funding will form part of packageMiddle East crisis live – follow for updatesThe US House speaker, Mike Johnson, has said he will aim to advance a bill for wartime aid to Israel this week following Iran’s weekend attack, but did not clarify whether Ukraine funding...

Tehran’s firing of over 300 drones and missiles at Israel threatens to draw region into wider conflictMiddle East crisis – live updatesTehran has warned it will strike again with greater force if Israel or the US retaliate for the Iranian strike on Israel by more 300 drones and missiles on Saturday night.The air raids, the Islamic Republic’s first ever direct attack on the Israeli...

Islamic Republic’s first ever direct attack on Jewish state involved more than 300 drones and missiles, and raises the risk of a broader regional conflagrationIran launches attack against Israel – live updatesIran missile and drone attack on Israel – what we know so farIran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel on Saturday night, in the Islamic Republic’s first ever direct attack...

US declaring commitment to Israeli security while also working to prevent regional war, say officialsThe US is seeking to deter Iran from carrying out a retaliatory strike against Israel with concerted declarations of commitment to Israeli security, while at the same time trying to prevent the outbreak of a major regional war, officials in Washington have said.US officials still believe that a direct Iranian...

In response, White House pushes back and rules out putting US monitors on ground after seven aid workers killed in Gaza The White House has pushed back on comments by World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés that Israel is engaged in “war against humanity itself” following the Israeli drone strike attack that killed seven of his aid workers on 1 April, but ruled out...

US president also said Israel must implement a series of specific steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workersMiddle East crisis – live updatesJoe Biden has called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, telling Benjamin Netanyahu that future US support for Israel will depend on it taking concrete action to protect civilians and aid workers.As the two leaders held...

This live blog is now closed. For more on the Biden-Netanyahu phone call, you can read our full report:Protect civilians and aid workers or risk losing US support, Biden tells IsraelJill Biden pleaded with her husband, Joe Biden, to “stop it, stop it now”, referring to the war in Gaza, the president told guests at the White House, according to a report.At a meeting...

The US president has called for a swift investigation into the Israeli strike on a World Central Kitchen convoySee all our coverage of the Middle East crisis and Israel-Gaza warThe UK should stop arming Israel, a former national security adviser has said, after seven international aid workers were killed in Gaza in an Israeli airstrike.Lord Ricketts, who was also the former permanent secretary at...

Israeli PM had cancelled officials’ US visit to discuss planned offensive in southern Gaza after the US refused to veto a UN security council vote on a ceasefireSee all of our Israel-Gaza war coverage here32,552 Palestinians have been killed and 74,980 injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, the Gazan health ministry said.Australian officials scrambled to “understand what the allegations are”...

Washington’s decision not to use its veto is an acknowledgement of its failure to lead the UN Gaza agendaDiplomacy occasionally has the capacity to surprise, and when it does it often portends a deep shifting in the landscape.Few as recently as the end of last week saw much chance that the UN security council would be able to put aside five months of division...

Australian and UK stress ‘urgency’ over need to allow aid into Gaza and for hostages to be released; US draft resolution calls for an immediate truce as part of a hostage dealThe Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that “hundreds of worshipers” were “blocked” from reaching the al-Aqsa mosque compound by Israeli forces on Friday.According to Wafa: “Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli forces significantly increased their...

US says attack would be ‘mistake’ as Biden and Netanyahu talk by phone for first time in over a monthIsrael will send a team of officials to Washington to discuss its planned offensive on Rafah, the White House has said, as the Biden administration insists that an attack would be a “mistake” and seeks to persuade Israel to allow in more aid in the...

Ro Khanna, Biden campaign surrogate, believes US president should take tougher line with ‘insufferably arrogant’ Israeli PMJoe Biden has committed a “strategic mistake” by “bear-hugging” the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as he prosecutes war with Hamas, a leading congressional progressive Democrat and Biden campaign surrogate said.“The bear-hugging of Netanyahu has been a strategic mistake,” Ro Khanna said, accusing the Israeli leader of conducting...

In State of the Union address, US president tells Israeli leadership protecting civilians in Gaza ‘has to be a priority’Full report: Biden announces US will build pier for aid on Gaza shore‘Who is going to distribute it?’: the key flaw in US’s planIsraeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories have expanded by a record amount and risk eliminating any practical possibly of a Palestinian...